System and method for automatic searches and advertising

ABSTRACT

A system and method provides location-aware search results from a navigation or other device and provides one or more enhanced listings or advertisements with the results to offset the communication cost of the search. The sponsor may be charged for the listing or advertisement and the charge may be based on whether the device arrives in an area around the sponsor location within a threshold amount of time.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to application Ser. No. 11/511,752,entitled, “System and Method for Updating Information Using LimitedBandwidth”, filed on Aug. 28, 2006 by Assimakis Tzamaloukas and SethRogers, and is a continuation in part of application Ser. No.11/511,946, entitled, “System and Method for Location-Based Searches andAdvertising” filed on Aug. 28, 2006 by Robert Currie, AssimakisTzamaloukas and Charles Gotlieb, and of application Ser. No. 11/511,688,entitled, “System and Method for Location-Based Searches andAdvertising” filed on Aug. 28, 2006 by Robert Currie, AssimakisTzamaloukas and Charles Gotlieb, each having the same assignee as thepresent application and each is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is related to computer software and morespecifically to computer software for global positioning-based devices.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventional navigation devices can provide a limited amount ofsearching based on databases resident in the device and knowledge of thedevice's location. For example, a user can enter “gas stations” and seegas stations that are located nearby because the device has a databaseof gas stations and the navigation system contains a conventional globalpositioning system receiver.

If the user of a device wishes to perform a search based on terms thatare not stored in the database in the device, the user is unable to usethe navigation device for that search. The user can use a conventionallaptop computer system to perform a search, for example using aconventional cellular telephone data communications capability, but manyusers may not wish to pay the extra cost of doing so. Conventionalnavigation systems manufacturers are reluctant to build such acapability into their navigation systems, because they do not want toabsorb the communication costs, and their customers would be reluctantto pay extra for such a capability.

One problem with building such a capability into a device is the factthat a user is required to either focus on the search and not the road,or pull over and perform the search.

What is needed is a system and method that can supply location-basedsearch results from information external to a navigation device withoutrequiring a user or a supplier to pay for all of the communicationcharges to support the search, and need not require the user to performeach an every search.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

A system and method receives a search term from a user at alocation-aware device, such as a device that can determine its locationusing a global positioning system. The device combines the search termwith the location to form a request, and provides the request to theserver. The server maintains a cache of search results for search terms,for example, resulting from prior requests it has received, and if thesearch results in the cache correspond to the location in the request,and are acceptably recent, the server assembles the search resultsrelevant to the location. If relevant results for the location in therequest are not in the server's cache, the server forwards the requestto one or more web sites that support location based searching,consolidates the results in its cache, and assembles the resultsrelevant to the location.

The server then identifies whether a sponsor corresponds to the request.A sponsor corresponds to the request if it is named in the results, orif the sponsor has purchased the right to correspond to the search termand/or location corresponding to the request. Information correspondingto the sponsor may be used to supplement the results assembled and theresults assembled and so supplemented are provided to the device fordisplay to the user. If a sponsor corresponds to the request, a sponsorlisting appearing in the results may be highlighted or otherwisemodified, for example, by displaying the results corresponding to thesponsor at the top of the results. The results assembled, supplementedas described above, and thus modified are provided to the device fordisplay to the user by the device. Location information, for example, anaddress, is listed in each entry in the results, sufficient to allow theuser to request and receive from the device driving directions to anentry or a sponsor location, estimated travel times to an entry or asponsor location, a map of an area in which an entry or the sponsor'slocation is located, or other location-based information for an entry ora sponsor location. The user may request additional actions to beperformed, such as obtaining restaurant or theater reservations, and thesystem and method complies with the request, optionally providing theestimated time of arrival to the entity to whom the request is madebased on the location of the device being used to make the request. Theuser or sponsor may pay for such fulfillment of the request. In exchangefor being listed or an enhanced listing, the sponsor may pay a fee thatcan be used, at least on part, to defray the costs of communication ofthe search request and its results. The search results may include RSSfeeds or other information to which a user of the device that sent thesearch request has subscribed.

The system and method can monitor the location of the device used toperform the search. In one embodiment, the sponsor only pays, or paysfor the provision of the sponsor information and then also may pay anenhanced charge, if the user drives to the location supplied as part ofthe sponsor information.

In one embodiment, the system and method can automatically perform thesame search or searches over and over as the user changes locations,time elapses, or both, thus, freeing the user from repeatedly enteringcommon search terms at different locations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a block schematic diagram of a conventional computer system.

FIG. 1B is a diagram of a road, with three automobiles that cancommunicate with each other or a server, either via a cellularconnection or a wireless access point.

FIG. 2A is a flowchart illustrating a method of performing alocation-based search according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2B is a flowchart illustrating a method of performing automaticlocation-based searches according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 is a block schematic diagram of the device of FIG. 1B forperforming a location-based search according to one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 is a block schematic diagram of the server of FIG. 1B forperforming a location-based search according to one embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention may be implemented as computer software on aconventional computer system. Referring now to FIG. 1A, a conventionalcomputer system 150 for practicing the present invention is shown.Processor 160 retrieves and executes software instructions stored instorage 162 such as memory, which may be Random Access Memory (RAM) andmay control other components to perform the present invention. Storage162 may be used to store program instructions or data or both. Storage164, such as a computer disk drive or other nonvolatile storage, mayprovide storage of data or program instructions. In one embodiment,storage 164 provides longer term storage of instructions and data, withstorage 162 providing storage for data or instructions that may only berequired for a shorter time than that of storage 164. Input device 166such as a computer keyboard or mouse or both allows user input to thesystem 150. Output 168, such as a display or printer, allows the systemto provide information such as instructions, data or other informationto the user of the system 150. Storage input device 170 such as aconventional floppy disk drive or CD-ROM drive accepts via input 172computer program products 174 such as a conventional floppy disk orCD-ROM or other nonvolatile storage media that may be used to transportcomputer instructions or data to the system 150. Computer programproduct 174 has encoded thereon computer readable program code devices176, such as magnetic charges in the case of a floppy disk or opticalencodings in the case of a CD-ROM which are encoded as programinstructions, data or both to configure the computer system 150 tooperate as described below.

In one embodiment, each computer system 150 is part of an embeddedsystem and includes an ARM processor and related components commerciallyavailable from ARM, such as the conventional XScale family of componentsavailable from Marvell Technology Group, or any other embedded systemcomponents running in a device. Other embodiments of computer systemsinclude a conventional SUN MICROSYSTEMS ULTRA 10 workstation running theSOLARIS operating system commercially available from SUN MICROSYSTEMS,Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., a PENTIUM-compatible personal computersystem such as are available from DELL COMPUTER CORPORATION of RoundRock, Tex. running a version of the WINDOWS operating system (such as95, 98, Me, XP, NT or 2000) commercially available from MICROSOFTCorporation of Redmond Wash. or a Macintosh computer system running theMACOS or OPENSTEP operating system commercially available from APPLECOMPUTER CORPORATION of Cupertino, Calif. and the NETSCAPE browsercommercially available from NETSCAPE COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION ofMountain View, Calif. or INTERNET EXPLORER browser commerciallyavailable from MICROSOFT above, although other systems may be used.

The present invention may be used in any environment, a representativeone of which will now be described. Referring now to FIG. 1B, aconventional road with wireless access points being driven on byconventional automobiles is shown according to one embodiment of thepresent invention. Automobiles 190, 192, 194 drive on road 180, whichcontains roadside wireless access points 182, 184, which in turn includeconventional wireless access points running any of the conventional802.11x protocols. Some or all of automobiles 190, 192, 194 have adevice such as device 196 containing a conventional wireless radio (notshown) for communicating with access points 182, 184 and the radios ofother automobiles 190, 192, 194. Device 196 may include a conventionalGPS receiver for use as described herein. Additionally, device 196contains a conventional cellular telephone communications subsystem (notshown) for communication with conventional cellular telephone tower 188containing conventional cellular telephone radio equipment operating ina conventional manner. Cell tower 188 communicates with server 186,which is a conventional computer system as described above. This allowscommunication between device 196 and server 186. As noted, otherautomobiles 190, 194 also contain devices similar or identical to device196.

Although the present invention is described with respect to automobiles,the present invention may be used in any vehicle, such as a boat, plane,bicycle or other moving object.

Wireless access points 182, 184 are coupled to a conventional networksuch as the Internet, Ethernet or both, and the network is coupled toserver 186, which may include one or more conventional servers. Threeautomobiles 190, 192, 194 and two wireless access points 182, 184 areshown in one embodiment of the present invention, though other numbersof these items may be used.

Radios in automobiles 190, 192, 194 may communicate with access points182, 184 via conventional wireless networking techniques or with radiosin other automobiles 190, 192, 194 via an ad-hoc mode of networkcommunication.

Referring now to FIG. 2A, a method of providing information aboutlocations is shown according to one embodiment of the present invention.A destination of a user, and/or ancillary information about the user isoptionally identified 210. In one embodiment, the destination isidentified via a conventional user interface that provides drivingdirections when an address or other location is specified. Ancillaryinformation may include other information, such as schedules, contacts,and other information about a user, not having to do with a map ordirections.

A location of a device the user is using is optionally identified 212.In one embodiment, the location is identified periodically as part of anindependently running process as shown by the dashed line in the Figure.In one embodiment, the location is identified using a conventionalglobal positioning system that identifies latitude and longitude of adevice. In one embodiment, step 212, 210, both or neither is used.

A search term, and a description of a target location (referred toherein as the “target”) is received 214. In one embodiment, the searchterm is any single or multiple words corresponding to terms of interest,such as “restaurants”, “Costco”, or “gas stations”. In one embodiment,the description of a target includes an indication of the locationassociated with the target, which may be the current location; oralternatively may be a destination such as those identified in steps 210or 212; or as a third alternative may be a different location, which maybe specified by an address, intersection, ZIP code, city, state, county,or country as part of step 214.

The target may be optionally converted to latitude and longitude 216.For example, the latitude and longitude of a city may be the center ofthe city, or a landmark of the city such as the City Hall. The searchterm received in step 214 and the target or converted target identifiedin step 214 and/or 216 is provided to a server 218 as part of a requestfor information about the search term that is relevant to the target orconverted target specified. In one embodiment, these items are providedto a server via a wireless or cellular telephone connection.

When the server receives the term and target or converted target, theserver checks a cache of terms corresponding to search results that itmaintains 220. The server may check its cache for an exact match withthe term, or for a synonym match with the term, for example, matchinggas stations to the term “service station”, “filling station” and thelike, as well as with misspellings such as “filing station”. Step 220may include identifying whether or not the results that the server hascached include any results at or nearby the target or converted targetprovided in step 218. If the term (or a corresponding term), andcorresponding results at or near the target or converted target, are inthe cache 222, the server selects the results corresponding to the termmost relevant to the target or converted target 224. The server maymaintain in the cache multiple results for each term for locations otherthan the target or converted target specified, and so the server in step224 limits the results of the search to those relevant to the target orconverted target, such as those within a threshold distance of thetarget or converted target. The method continues at step 250.

If, however, the term (or a corresponding term), or resultscorresponding to the target or converted target, are not in the server'scache 222, the server requests 226 results for the search term from oneor more third parties. The request may be made, and results received,using a conventional API to web sites that supply such APIs. Companiesthat supply such APIs include Microsoft. (MSN Search API: at the msdnsubdomain of the website of microsoft.com at thelocation/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/MSN Search Web ServiceSDK/HTML/MSNSearchWebServiceClass Library.asp and Windows Live Expo BetaAPI: at the same subdomain and website at thelocation/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnlive/html/winliveexpo.asp?frame=true&hidetoc=true)GOOGLE (at the web site of: google.com/apis/maps/documentation/#RoutingLocal Etc); and YAHOO (Yahoo Local Search APIs: at the developersubdomain of the web site of yahoo.com at the location/search/local. Therequest may be made, and results received, by scraping the results of anhttp: search request made to a web site, such as those provided byAOL.COM, A9.COM or ASK.COM. Each of the third parties may be operated byan entity that is independent of the other entities, and independent ofthe entity operating the server. If the server requests search resultsfrom multiple parties, the server may aggregate the results 226, forexample by eliminating duplicate results, or by placing the results fromthe different parties into a consistent format based on the party fromwhich the results were obtained, and knowledge of the format of theresults provided by that party. The method continues at step 224.

The data in the cache may correspond to business and residentialinformation, such as names and addresses, such as may be found in ayellow and white pages telephone directory. Additional information, suchas a classification of business, store hours and the like, may beincluded. The cache may be populated with data from the external serversor it may be populated with data supplied by another party, such as byusing commercially available databases, for example, directory listingsfrom yellow pages and the like.

In one embodiment, the server stores information received from RSSfeeds, with one or more feeds being associated on the server with one ormore devices. The ancillary information received in step 210 may includethe RSS feeds, or RSS feeds and relevant text terms, and the server willassociate with the device from which it was received, the feed orinformation from the feed that corresponds to the relevant text terms.This allows a user to arrange the RSS feeds that suits that user'stastes: and the RSS feed will be associated on the server with thatuser's device or devices. A single feed may be associated with multipleusers, or with multiple users that have requested the same informationfrom the feed, or information from a feed may be stored for a singleuser. In one embodiment, the search performed by the server will includenot only information about local businesses and the like, but also theinformation from RSS feeds associated with the device from which thesearch request was received, to the extent that the information isrelevant to the search: both the one or more terms as well as the targetlocation.

It isn't necessary that the server cache be in a single location or evenbe operated by the same entity. The server cache can extend to multiplelocations and entities. For example, the RSS feeds can reside at theservers of each entity that supplies the feed, with the server searchingthose entities as needed.

In one embodiment, each result received or maintained by the servercontains information that includes a location corresponding to thatresult. In one embodiment, the server additionally maintains informationabout one or more sponsors who have paid a fee for the sponsorship. Theinformation about each sponsor may include the name of the sponsor, toallow it to be identified if it appears in the results, and/orinformation about the search terms and/or target or converted target towhich the sponsor corresponds. If the terms or results correspond to thesponsor 250, because the name of the sponsor is included in the results,or because the term, location, or both corresponds to the sponsor,information about the sponsor may be added to the results obtained instep 224 to be provided to the device. Additionally, if the sponsor islisted as one of the results, the results may be provided to the devicein a manner that enhances the position or display of the sponsor'sresult 254, such as by displaying the sponsor first, or a highlightingthe display of the sponsor's result, and the method continues at step256. If no sponsor corresponds to the results 250, the results areprovided without change or enhancement of sponsor information 252 andthe method continues at step 256.

The device receives the results 256 as provided in step 252 or 254. Theancillary information received in step 210 may be used to display 258the results or to perform other functions. For example, ancillaryinformation may include schedule information that indicates that theuser of the device is meeting a friend at the ballpark. The ancillaryinformation may be used to identify in the results a restaurantfrequented by that friend whose name is specified in the ancillaryinformation. To display the results using the ancillary information, theresults may be marked with an indication that the friend being metfrequents any result so identified. Even if the search is not forrestaurants, the results can include names of restaurants nearby aballpark that are frequented by that friend, with an indication that thefriend prefers such restaurants. To provide such results, the name ofthe friend and purpose of the meeting may be provided to the server in aseparate search or as part of the terms provided in step 218 above, andthe server uses information it maintains about each person and theirpreferences to identify results, with results corresponding to theancillary information being provided with the results of the searchrequested as described above. Alternatively, only sponsor informationmay be provided using such ancillary information.

In another embodiment, ancillary information is not used, and theresults received in step 200 are provided by the device without suchadditions 258.

In one embodiment, a user interface is provided 260 to allow the user ofthe device to specify a follow-up action to be performed based on thesearch results or independently thereof. In one embodiment, a follow upaction may include making a reservation at a restaurant corresponding tothe results, obtaining movie theater tickets from a theatercorresponding to the results, or other actions related to the results.If such a follow-up action is requested 262, a follow up action isperformed 264, and the method continues at step 266. Otherwise 262, themethod continues at step 266. In one embodiment, performing a follow upaction includes providing the user's name and credit card information toa theater or an agent thereof, or providing the user's name andtelephone number to a restaurant or an agent thereof for a reservation.The theater or restaurant may be the sponsor or one of the sponsors,although it may be another result. In one embodiment, the travel time tothe restaurant may be used to identify the time of the reservation, suchtravel time being available to the device as described in the relatedapplication. Briefly, the travel times are provided using deviations toexpected travel times for road segments corresponding to a conventionalmap database. The expected times are stored in a database in the device,with periodic updates being received to identify current conditions thatdeviate from those specified in the database as described in the relatedapplication. The device uses conventional map route algorithms toidentify the route from the current location of the device to thelocation of any selected search result or sponsor and then identifiestravel times by summing the travel times received as described above ofeach of the segments corresponding to the route.

In one embodiment, the time and location corresponding to sponsors ofsearch results are recorded, and the user is tracked 266 to identifywhether the user arrives at any location corresponding to a sponsor thatwas provided in the display of the step 258. If the user arrives at thelocation of the sponsor 268 within a threshold amount of time (such as 8hours) of the time the sponsor was displayed as part of the searchresults as described above, the sponsor may be charged a fee 270 or maybe charged a higher fee than was charged for including the enhanceddisplay of the sponsor information in step 252. Thus, userscorresponding to devices that have arrived at a sponsor's locationwithin a threshold period of time generate a fee from the sponsor, orgenerate a higher fee from the sponsor than is paid if the user does notarrive at a location corresponding to a sponsor. The method continues atstep 210. It is noted that the user may be tracked to determine if theuser arrived at the sponsor as part of a separate, independently runningprocess, and so step 210 can follow step 264. If the user does notarrive at the location corresponding to the sponsor 268, the methodcontinues at step 210.

In one embodiment, the method of FIG. 2A may be used to performautomatic searches. In one embodiment, a user of the device may selector provide one or more search terms that will be repeatedly submitted asdescribed above as the device operates. The search is repeatedlyperformed and the results are displayed to allow the user to view theresults of those searches without having to manually perform thesearches. Referring now to FIG. 2B, a method of performing automaticsearches is shown according to one embodiment of the present invention.One or more search terms are received 280, either using text, orselection of predefined terms such as “gas station”, “coffee shop”,etc., or both text and selection may be employed. The search terms canemploy multiple items, such as “‘coffee shop’ or ‘gas station’”, ormultiple sets of search terms may be received individually. The searchterms are received in step 280 as part of an automatic searchregistration process and may be updated at any time. The search termsare stored as part of step 280.

The current date and time, location or both are identified 282, forexample using GPS signals from a GPS receiver as described above. If thedate and time, location, or both are different 284 by at least athreshold amount or time, distance or both, from a date and time,location or both that were retrieved in a previous iteration of step286, described below, the method continues at step 286 and otherwise,the method continues at step 282. In one embodiment, step 282 includeswaiting for a period of time to elapse before identifying the date andtime and location. At step 286, the date and time, location or both areretrieved in a manner similar to that of step 282, and the date andtime, location or both are stored. The search term or terms received instep 280 are provided 288 with an indication to use the current locationas the target location in a search, to the method of step 2A, forexample at step 214 and the method continues at step 282. Different setsof search terms can be provided as separate searches one at a time, orthe different sets can be provided as a single search with an “or”operator added between each set of terms. Thus, the method of FIGS. 2Aand 2B can operate simultaneously, as separate, independently runningprocesses, with FIG. 2A initiated by FIG. 2B or by a user. As the usermoves about in a car or walking or otherwise, the display will updatewith search results that may not have appeared before, due to the user'schanged location, time elapsing, or both, without the user providing anyadditional user input. In one embodiment, no user input of any kind isrequired, as a default set of one or more search terms may be usedwithout any user input until the user changes the search term used forthe automatic search.

In one embodiment, an indication that the search is an automatic searchor the default automatic search is provided to the server with thesearch terms. In such embodiment, the server may charge the advertiser adifferent rate: a higher rate may be charged for searches that are notautomatic, a lower rate may be charged for searches that are automaticbut not the default, and a still lower rate may be charged for searchesthat are automatic and the default.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate a system of providing information aboutlocations according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3is an illustration of device 196 of FIG. 1B shown in more detailaccording to one embodiment of the present invention. Referring now toFIG. 3, at any time, a user (not shown) may provide a destination todestination/ancillary information receiver 310 via touch screen display312. In one embodiment, touch screen display 312 is a conventional LCDdisplay screen comprising a touch sensor. In one embodiment, to providethe destination and/or ancillary information, the user pushes a“destination” button on touch screen display 312 and touch screendisplay 312 then signals destination/ancillary information receiver 310.When so signaled, destination/ancillary information receiver 310provides a user interface for entering a destination, such as a streetaddress, to the user via touch screen display 312. In one embodiment,the destination may also be entered in other forms, such as in the formof an intersection, ZIP code, city, state, county, country, or landmark.When destination/ancillary information receiver 310 receives adestination from the user via touch screen display 312,destination/ancillary information receiver 310 provides the destinationto target converter 328.

When target converter 328 receives a destination fromdestination/ancillary information receiver 310, target converter 328converts the destination to latitude and longitude coordinates. Toperform the conversion, target converter 328 compares the destinationreceived to data stored in database 316 using conventional geocodingtechniques. In one embodiment, database 316 includes conventionaldatabases that contain geographic data such as map images; records ofaddress ranges along road segments; and latitude and longitudecoordinates corresponding to defined destinations such as addresses, ZIPcodes, cities, states, counties, countries, and landmarks. Database 316also includes a travel time database, which stores the travel timesrequired to traverse each road segment in each direction at varyingtimes of day for different types of days as described above. In oneembodiment, database 316 further includes an update database containingthe latest update as described in the related application Ser. No.11/511,752 and used as described below. When target converter 328 hasconverted the destination to latitude and longitude coordinates, targetconverter 328 stores the converted destination in user storage 314,overwriting any previously stored destination.

Additionally, target converter 328 provides the converted target tomapper 318, and mapper 318 uses the information in database 316 togenerate a map of a route from the current location to the destination.To do so, mapper 318 first signals location identifier 320. In oneembodiment, location identifier 320 includes a conventional GPS system.When location identifier 320 receives a signal from mapper 318, locationidentifier 320 determines the latitude and longitude coordinates of thecurrent location, along with the current time, and provides them tomapper 318.

When mapper 318 receives the current location and time from locationidentifier 320, mapper 318 uses the information stored in database 316and conventional routing techniques to determine the “best” routebetween the current location and the converted destination. In oneembodiment, the best route is determined to be the one that will takethe least time to traverse, or the one which is most composed of majorroads. To determine the time required to traverse each route, mapper 318uses the travel time database and the update database in database 316 todetermine the travel time for each segment. As described in the relatedapplication, in one embodiment, the update database contains differencesexpressed as percentages from the time database; for example, a value of200 percent stored associated with a road segment would indicate thatcurrent driving conditions are such that twice as much time is requiredto traverse that road segment than is usually required at that time ofday. Mapper 318 determines the time required to traverse each roadsegment of the route using the percentages stored in the update databaseas applied to the normal times stored in the travel time database. If nodata on a road segment of the route is stored in the update database,mapper 318 uses the data for that road segment at the current time inthe travel time database. Mapper 318 sums the times required to traverseeach road segment of the route in order to find the total time requiredto traverse that route. When mapper 318 has determined the best routebetween the current location and the converted destination, mapper 318generates a map of that route using the map images stored in database316 and provides the map to touch screen display 312 for display to theuser.

At any time, a user may indicate a desire to perform a search, forexample by pushing a “search” button on touch screen display 312. Whentouch screen display 312 receives such a search indication from theuser, touch screen display 312 signals device search manager 326, anddevice search manager 326 provides a user interface via touch screendisplay 312, which prompts the user to select a target of the search. Inone embodiment, the user may select the current location, the currentdestination, or another location as the target of the search.

If the user selects the current location, device search manager 326signals location identifier 320, which determines the latitude andlongitude coordinates of the current location and provides them todevice search manager 326. Device search manager 326 determines thatthese coordinates are the converted target.

If the user selects the current destination, device search manager 326retrieves the converted destination stored in user storage 314. In oneembodiment, device search manager 326 may display the destination to theuser for confirmation, for example by retrieving a map imagecorresponding to the latitude and longitude coordinates of the converteddestination from database 316 and displaying it to the user. If the userindicates that the destination is correct, or in the embodiment that aconfirmation step is not used, device search manager 326 determines thatthe retrieved destination is the converted target.

If the user indicates that the stored destination is no longer correct,or if the user selects another location as the target of the search,device search manager 326 provides a user interface for the user toenter a target, such as a street address, intersection, ZIP code, city,state, county, country or landmark. When device search manager 326receives a target from the user, device search manager 326 provides thetarget to target converter 328, which converts the target to latitudeand longitude coordinates using the information in database 316 asdescribed above. Target converter 328 provides the converted target todevice search manager 326.

When device search manager 326 has received or determined the convertedtarget as described above, device search manager 326 provides a userinterface via touch screen display to allow the user to enter a searchterm. As described above, in one embodiment the search term is anysingle or multiple words corresponding to terms of interest, such as“restaurants”, “Costco”, or “gas stations”. Device search manager 326builds a search record that includes the search term and the convertedtarget, and provides the search record to server 186 of FIG. 4 viacommunication interface 340. In one embodiment, communication interface340 is a conventional network interface such as a TCP/IP-capablecommunication interface, which may include a conventional wireless modemcapable of transmitting and receiving information across a network suchas the Internet, a cellular telephone network, or both.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of server 186 of FIG. 1B shown in more detailaccording to one embodiment of the present invention. Referring now toFIG. 4, when server 186 receives the search record, the record isreceived by communication interface 350 of server 186. Likecommunication interface 340 described above, in one embodimentcommunication interface 350 is a conventional network interface such asa TCP/IP-capable communication interface, which may include aconventional device such as a modem or router capable of transmittingand receiving information across a network such as the Internet, acellular telephone network, or both. When communication interface 350receives the search record, communication interface 350 provides therecord to server search manager 352. In one embodiment server 186communicates with device 196 via cell tower 188, which is a conventionalcellular telephone tower that can route data communications via theInternet.

When server search manager 352 receives the search record, server searchmanager provides the search record to cache manager 354 and also retainsthe search record for use as described below. Cache manager 354 checksresults storage 356 to see if the results of any similar search arealready stored. In one embodiment, results storage 356 includes aconventional database. In one embodiment, two searches are “similar” ifa) the targets of the searches are located near to each other, such aswithin the same metropolitan area, and b) the terms of the searches arethe same or consist of synonyms. In one embodiment, cache manager 354internally stores a list of common search terms and their synonyms, aswell as a list of areas, including the latitude and longitudecoordinates that form the boundaries of these areas, and cache manager354 uses these lists to determine both the area in which the target islocated and whether the search term matches a search or its synonyms inresults storage 356. In this embodiment, search results are stored incache manager 354 in separate tables for each area, and when checkingfor prior search results cache manager 354 checks the tablecorresponding to the area in which the target is contained for both theterm of the search record and any known synonyms to that term. In otherembodiments, cache manager 354 may use other techniques to determinewhether the targets of the searches are located near to each otherand/or whether the terms of the searches are synonymous. If cachemanager 354 finds a result record for a similar search stored in resultsstorage 356, cache manager 354 provides that result record to serversearch manager 352. The result record contains the results of thecorresponding search for the area as described in more detail below.Otherwise, cache manager 354 provides the search record, along with anyknown synonyms for the search term, to external search manager 358.

When external search manager 358 receives the search record and anysynonyms from server search manager 352, external search manager 358requests results for the search term and converted target, and resultsfor each synonym along with the same target, from one or more thirdparties via communication interface 350. External search manager 358 mayrequest results for the search using a conventional API, a web service,and/or by scraping the results of one or more http: search requests madeto one or more web sites.

External search manager 358 creates a result record based on the resultsreceived from the one or more third parties. In one embodiment, eachresult includes a name, address, and latitude/longitude coordinates. Forexample, if the search was for “gas station” and the target was thelatitude and longitude coordinates corresponding to “Fifth and Market”,the results might include “Shell Gas Station, 1070 Market” along withthe latitude/longitude coordinates corresponding to that address.Because each result may be returned in a different format based on theparty from which the results were obtained, in one embodiment externalsearch manager 358 extracts names, addresses, and coordinates from eachresult, based on the party from which the results were obtained andknowledge of the format of the results provided by that party. To createthe result record, external search manager includes the name, address,and latitude/longitude of each result corresponding to the search termand converted target, as well as the name, address, andlatitude/longitude of results corresponding to each known synonym forthe term as well as the same target. If two or more results for a searchterm or synonym have the same name, address, and latitude/longitudecoordinates, external search manager 358 determines that the results areduplicates, and eliminates all but one of those results from the resultrecord. When external search manager 358 has compiled the result record,external search manager 358 provides the result record to cache manager354.

When cache manager 354 receives a result record from external searchmanager 358, cache manager 354 adds the record to the table in resultsstorage 356 that corresponds to the area in which the target iscontained. Cache manager 354 also provides the result record to serversearch manager 352.

When server search manager 352 receives a result record from cachemanager 354, server search manager 352 provides the result record alongwith the search record, retained as described above, to resultssegregator 360. When results segregator 360 receives the result recordand search record, results segregator 360 determines which results inthe result record are most relevant to the search. For instance, resultssegregator 360 may determine that results corresponding to the searchterm are more relevant than results corresponding to synonyms.Additionally or alternatively, results segregator 360 may find whichresults are most relevant to the converted target by comparing thecoordinates of results to the coordinates of the converted target in thesearch record, and/or may employ other techniques for determining therelevance of search results. Results segregator 360 creates a segregatedresults record consisting of the search term, the converted target, anda predetermined number of the most relevant results, for example thefive or ten most relevant results. When results segregator 360 hascreated the segregated results record, results segregator 360 providesthe segregated results record to server search manager 352.

When server search manager 352 receives the segregated results record,server search manager 352 provides the segregated results record tosponsor manager 370. When sponsor manager 370 receives the segregatedresults record, sponsor manager 370 checks sponsor information storage372 for sponsor information.

As noted, the search may include RSS feeds specified by the user as tothe feed, or the feed and text terms, and in such embodiment,destination/ancillary information receiver 310 receives an identifier ofthe RSS feed and any text terms, and builds an RSS record containingthese items and the identifier of the device containingdestination/ancillary information receiver 310. Destination/ancillaryinformation receiver 310 provides the RSS record to search manager 352,which provides it to cache manager 354, which arranges to receive thefeed and stores the RSS record into results storage 356. As the feed isreceived, cache manager 354 stores it into results storage 356 and suchresults are part of what is searched as described above. When a requestis received, it contains the device identifier, and search manager 352provides the device identifier to cache manager 354. When cache manager354 searches the results in results storage 356, cache manager 354 willalso search the RSS feed or feeds corresponding to that device asindicated by the RSS records for the device. In the event that theinformation is on a different server, cache manager 354 may search usingthat server. The results obtained by cache manager will additionallyinclude any such results from RSS feeds. This same approach may be usedfor non-RSS-formatted data that will reside on another server.

In one embodiment, sponsor information storage 372 includes aconventional database. At any time, a system administrator may usesponsor information provider 374 to update sponsor information storage372 with sponsor information received from a sponsor (not shown) viacommunication interface 350. In one embodiment, sponsor informationincludes a sponsor identifier; a search term or terms corresponding tothat sponsor; a relevant location area, which may be defined as thelatitude and longitude coordinates that form the boundaries of therelevant location area; an address such as a street address; latitudeand longitude coordinates of the sponsor's location, normallycorresponding to the address; optionally, an image file such as a JPEGfile, or other media file such as a sound or multimedia file, or text,comprising an advertisement for the sponsor; and, also optionally,metadata, such as a description of the sponsor, and/or a description ofa follow-up service, for instance, WSDL metadata describing a webservice which allows automated ticket sales for a movie theater, ordescribing an automated reservation service for a restaurant. Contactinformation such as an e-mail address may optionally be included in thesponsor information as well.

In one embodiment, when sponsor information provider 374 receives suchinformation, sponsor information provider 374 adds a charge locationarea to the sponsor information before storing it in sponsor informationstorage 372. The charge location area is based on the sponsor's locationbut includes a radius of predetermined length, such as four city blocks,around the address. In this embodiment, sponsor information provider 374includes a conventional Geographic Information System (GIS) database,and uses conventional geocoding techniques to determine the latitude andlongitude coordinates defining the boundary of the charge location area.In one embodiment, the latitude and longitude coordinates of thesponsor's location are not received from the sponsor but are added tothe sponsor information by sponsor information provider 374 based on thesponsor's address.

When sponsor manager 370 checks sponsor information storage 372 forsponsor information as described above, sponsor manager 370 compares thenames and addresses included in the results of the segregated resultsrecord with the names and addresses included in the sponsor information.If sponsor manager 370 finds one or more matches, indicating that asponsor or sponsors are listed among the results, sponsor manager 370includes an indication that will cause the sponsors' results to beenhanced when the results are displayed, as described below. In oneembodiment, sponsor manager 370 additionally appends any advertisementfiles from the sponsor information to the search results record.

In one embodiment, sponsor manager 370 additionally checks for sponsorinformation where the search term or terms corresponding to that sponsormatch the search term of the segregated results record, and/or where theconverted target of the segregated results record is located within therelevant area of the sponsor information. In this embodiment, if sponsormanager 370 finds a match or matches to either or both of the above,sponsor manager 370 appends a new result to the search results recordfor each match, using the name, address, and latitude and longitudecoordinates contained in the matching sponsor information. Sponsormanager 370 may optionally include an enhancement indicator in theseresults and additionally append any advertisement files from thematching sponsor information to the search results record as describedabove. In one embodiment, sponsor manager 370 performs these actionsonly for a limited number of sponsors, for example, sponsor manager 370may only enhance the results and/or append advertisements for up tothree sponsors. In one embodiment, for each result that sponsor manager370 appends or enhances, sponsor manager 370 adds the charge locationarea and the sponsor identifier from the matching sponsor information tothat result in the search results record. In one embodiment, for eachresult that sponsor manager 370 appends or enhances, sponsor manager 370provides the sponsor identifier from the matching sponsor information,optionally along with an indication of whether an advertisement file wasappended to the result, to sponsor charge manager 376, for use asdescribed below.

When sponsor manager 370 has modified the search results record, or ifsponsor manager 370 determines that no matching sponsor information isstored in sponsor information storage 372, sponsor manager 370 providesthe search results record to server search manager 352.

When server search manager 352 receives the search results record fromsponsor manager 370, server search manager 352 provides the searchresults record to device 196 via communication interface 350. Serversearch manager 352 may discard any previously retained information.

Referring again to FIG. 3, when communications interface 340 of device196 receives the search results record from server 186, communicationsinterface 340 provides the search results record to device searchmanager 326. Additionally, communications interface 340 provides thesearch results record to sponsor tracker 336.

When device search manager 326 receives the search results record,device search manager 326 uses the information in the search resultsrecord, and optionally information contained in database 316, to createan informative display for the user which is displayed via touch screendisplay 312. For example, the results may be displayed in list format,or may be displayed in the form of a map image, or both. Depending onthe format of the display, device search manager 326 may use differenttechniques to enhance the display of any results containing anenhancement indication as described above. For instance, device searchmanager 326 may place enhanced results near the top of a list, or maycause enhanced results to be highlighted when placed on a map. Displaysearch manager 326 may use other techniques to enhance the display ofresults in other embodiments. As described above, the information in thesearch results record used by device search manager 326 to create thedisplay may also include advertisement information in the search resultsrecord. Additionally, as described above, the information in the searchresults record used by device search manager 326 to create the displaymay include descriptions of follow-up services, for instance, WSDL orother metadata describing a web service which allows automated ticketsales for a movie theater, or describing an automated reservationservice for a restaurant. In one embodiment, device search manager 326provides a user interface as part of the display which allows the userto select any such available follow-up services. If the user does selectan available follow-up service, device search manager 326 provides thecorresponding follow-up metadata to follow-up manager 332, optionallyalong with the sponsor identifier and the latitude and longitudecoordinates of that result for use as described below.

When follow-up manager 332 receives follow-up metadata and optionallyadditional information from device search manager 326, follow-up manager332 provides the follow-up metadata and any received sponsor identifierto server 186 via communication interface 340. In one embodiment,follow-up manager 332 also retrieves a unique device identifier fromuser storage 314, which may for example be preloaded in user storage 314when the device is shipped from a factory, and follow-up manager 332provides this device identifier to server 186 along with the follow-upmetadata. Additionally, in one embodiment, follow-up manager 332provides additional data required by the follow-up service, as indicatedin the follow-up metadata. For example, for reservation services thatrequire the user's name, follow-up manager checks user storage 314 todetermine whether the user's name is stored there, and if so, retrievesthe user's name and provides it to server 186. In this embodiment, ifthe user's name is not stored in user storage 314, follow-up manager 332provides a user interface to the user via touch screen display 312,prompting the user to input a name. Follow-up manager 332 then providesthe name to server 186 along with the follow-up metadata, stores theuser's name in user storage 314, or optionally provides a user interfaceto the user allowing the user to determine whether such informationshould be stored and automatically used in the future. Many other typesof information, including but not limited to payment information such ascredit card information, or user preferences such as smoking ornon-smoking, may be collected by follow-up manager 332, stored in userstorage 314, and used to automatically initiate follow-up services. Inone embodiment, the user may further specify whether follow-up manager332 should automatically use the given piece of information or shouldprompt the user for confirmation before each use; in cases of sensitiveinformation such as credit card information, the user may prefer to beprompted and/or to supply a password before use.

Some types of information required by follow-up services may dynamicrather than static, and therefore may not be stored in user storage 314.For example, the reservation service described above may require anarrival time. Follow-up manager 332 may automatically determine someinformation of this type. For example, to determine the arrival time,follow-up manager 332 may signal location identifier 320. In thisembodiment, when signal location identifier 320 receives a signal fromfollow-up manager 332, signal location identifier 320 determines thecurrent time and the latitude and longitude coordinates of the currentlocation and provides this information to follow-up manager 332.Follow-up manager 332 then provides the latitude and longitudecoordinates of the current location, along with the latitude andlongitude coordinates of the result which may be received from devicesearch manager 326 as described above, to target converter 328. In thisembodiment, when target converter 328 receives such coordinates fromfollow-up manager 332, target converter 328 provides the coordinates tomapper 318, which determines the time required to traverse the bestroute from the current location to the result using the information indatabase 316 as described above, and provides this information tofollow-up manager 332. Follow-up manager 332 then determines the arrivaltime by adding the time required to traverse the route to the currenttime, and provides this information to server 186 along with thefollow-up metadata and any other required information determined asdescribed above. When automatically determining information such asarrival time, follow-up manager 332 may optionally prompt the user forconfirmation of the automatically determined information via touchscreen display 312, and may allow the user to replace the automaticallydetermined information with manually entered information.

Referring momentarily to FIG. 4, when communication interface 350 ofserver 186 receives follow-up metadata along with the device identifier,any sponsor identifier, and any additional information required by thefollow-up service as described above, communication interface 350provides this information to follow-up processor 380. When follow-upprocessor 380 receives follow-up metadata along with the deviceidentifier and additional information, follow-up processor 380 invokesthe service on behalf of the device, for example by using one or moreSOAP calls to invoke the service described by the metadata viacommunication interface 350. In the embodiment that a follow-upprocessor 380 received a sponsor identifier along with the metadata,follow-up processor 380 provides that sponsor identifier along with thedevice identifier to sponsor charge manager 376, which charges thesponsor for the follow up service as described in more detail below.Follow-up processor 380 also provides a confirmation to device 196 viacommunication interface 350, or alternatively, if for any reasonfollow-up processor 380 failed to successfully invoke the service,follow-up processor 380 provides an error message to device 196 viacommunication interface 350.

Referring again to FIG. 3, when communication interface 340 of device196 receives a confirmation or an error message, communication interface340 provides the confirmation or error message to device search manager,which displays the information to the user via touch screen display 312.

As described above, when communications interface 340 receives a searchresults record from server 186, communications interface 340 providesthe search results record to sponsor tracker 336 as well as to devicesearch manager 326. When sponsor tracker 336 receives the search resultsrecord, sponsor tracker 336 in one embodiment discards any previouslystored information and unsets any previously set timers. Sponsor tracker336 determines whether any charge location areas are included in theresults. If so, sponsor tracker 336 stores in user storage 314 thedescription of each charge location area, the corresponding sponsoridentifier included in the results, and the date and time. Sponsortracker 336 also sets a timer for a predetermined amount of time, forexample, five minutes. When the timer expires, sponsor tracker 336signals location identifier 320 and resets the timer for another fiveminutes.

When location identifier 320 receives a signal from sponsor tracker 336,location identifier 320 determines the latitude and longitudecoordinates of the current location and provides the coordinates tosponsor tracker 336. Sponsor tracker 336 compares the coordinatesreceived from location identifier 320 to the stored charge location areaor areas. If sponsor tracker 336 determines that the current locationlies within a charge location area, sponsor tracker 336 provides thesponsor identifier corresponding to that charge location area to server186 via communication interface 340. In one embodiment, sponsor tracker336 also retrieves the device identifier from user storage 314, andsponsor tracker 336 provides this device identifier along with anysponsor identifier provided to server 186. In one embodiment, sponsortracker 336 continues to reset the timer; therefore, sponsor tracker 336continues to periodically signal location identifier 320 and to comparethe current coordinates with the stored charge location areas. If thecurrent time is more than a threshold amount of time, for example threeor eight hours, after the time stored in an entry containing such chargelocation areas, sponsor tracker 336 deletes the entry in user storage314.

Referring again to FIG. 4, when communication interface 350 of server186 receives a sponsor identifier from device 196, communicationinterface 350 provides the sponsor identifier to sponsor charge manager376.

As described above, sponsor charge manager 376 may receive sponsoridentifiers from sponsor manager 370, from follow-up processor 380, orfrom communication interface 350. Each time sponsor charge manager 376receives a sponsor identifier, sponsor charge manager 376 internallystores a record of a charge associated with that sponsor identifier,which it retrieves from sponsor information storage 372, such chargesbeing recorded there by a system administrator. In one embodiment, thecharges vary depending on the source, which is provided with the sponsoridentifier. For example, sponsor charge manager 376 may record a chargeof one dollar when a sponsor identifier is received from follow-upprocessor 380 or from sponsor tracker 336 of device 196, because inthese cases it is known that the user either invoked a sponsor's serviceor else visited a sponsor's location after viewing a sponsor's result.By contrast, sponsor charge manager 376 may only record a charge offifty cents, or no charge at all, when a sponsor identifier is receivedfrom sponsor manager 370, because in this case it is only known that asponsor's result was displayed to the user, and not known whether theuser took any action based on that viewing. As described above, whensponsor charge manager 376 receives a sponsor identifier from sponsormanager 370, the sponsor identifier may optionally be accompanied by anindication that an advertisement file was appended to the result.Sponsor charge manager 376 may optionally record a higher charge whenthe sponsor identifier is accompanied by such an indication.

Periodically, such as at the end of the day or month, sponsor chargemanager 376 compiles a bill for each sponsor by adding the internallystored charges associated with each sponsor identifier, and provides thebills to the sponsors via communication interface 350, for example byretrieving the sponsor's e-mail addresses from sponsor informationstorage 372. In other embodiments, sponsor charge manager 376 may notprovide the bills to the sponsors directly, but may instead provide thebills to a separate billing system not shown.

In one embodiment, searches may include ancillary information. Aspreviously described, ancillary information may be used, for example, toidentify in the results a restaurant frequented by a friend of the user.Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, in this embodiment, at any time, theuser of device 196 may enter the device identifier of a friend via touchscreen display 312. When the user enters such information,destination/ancillary information receiver 310 receives the deviceidentifier and stores it in user storage 314 as a friend identifier. Theuser may also enter schedule information at any time via touch screendisplay 312, and destination/ancillary information receiver 310similarly receives this information and stores it in user storage 314.

As described above, when server 186 receives a sponsor identifier fromfollow up manager 332 or from sponsor tracker 336 of device 196, thesponsor identifier may be received along with the device identifier ofdevice 196. In this embodiment, when sponsor charge manager 376 ofserver 186 receives a sponsor identifier along with a device identifier,either from communication interface 350 or from follow-up processor 380,sponsor charge manager 376 adds that sponsor identifier to a record ofthat device identifier in a preference database stored in sponsorinformation storage 372. When similar information is received from otherdevices, such as the device of the user's friend, sponsor charge manager376 acts in the same fashion to store that information in the preferencedatabase in sponsor information storage 372. In this fashion, a databaseof the locations and services frequented by each user of the system isbuilt and maintained. In this embodiment, when device search manager 326prepares a search record as described above, instead of providing thesearch record to server 186, device search manager 326 instead providesthe record to ancillary information search manager 330, and ancillaryinformation search manager 330 checks user storage 314 to determinewhether any ancillary information relevant to the search, such as friendor schedule information, is stored in user storage 314. If suchancillary information is found, ancillary information search manager 330appends the ancillary information to the search record along with thedevice identifier and returns it to device search manager 326, whichproceeds to provide the search record to server 186 as described above.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, when server search manager 352 providesthe segregated results record to sponsor manager 370 as described above,server search manager 352 also provides the any ancillary informationfrom the search record, including the device identifier, along with thesegregated results record. Sponsor manager 370 adds the ancillaryinformation to a record of that device identifier in preference storage382, which in one embodiment includes a conventional database. In thisembodiment, when sponsor manager 370 has appended results to or enhancedresults in the segregated results record based on sponsor information asdescribed above, sponsor manager 370 also checks the records inpreference storage 382 of any device identifiers provided as friendidentifiers in the ancillary information. If any sponsor identifiers arestored in these records, sponsor manager 370 compares the sponsoridentifiers to the segregated results record. For example, sponsormanager 370 may determine that one of the results in the segregatedresults record is associated with a sponsor identifier which alsoappears in the preference record associated with a friend of the user.Sponsor manager 370 may then add an indication to that result which willcause it to be displayed as a “friend favorite” when that result isdisplayed to the user. The example of a sponsored result that is a“friend favorite” is described as a representative example, but moreinformation may be collected and maintained in a manner at least similarto that described herein, in order to allow server 186 to identifynon-sponsored results as well as sponsored results as “friendfavorites”, or to identify results with other useful information basedon the activities of the user and the user's friends.

Automatic searches are performed as described above, with automaticsearch user interface manager 350 providing a user interface via touchscreen display 312 and receiving the one or more search terms, which maybe entered or selected as described above. Automatic search userinterface manager 350 provides the terms to automatic search executionmanager 352, which stores the one or search terms received fromautomatic search user interface manager 350, and internally stores anysuch terms. Automatic search execution identifier 352 requests andreceives the current date and time and/or location from locationidentifier 320 and compares the date and time or location or both to anystored date and/or time it maintains as described below. If the date andtime and/or location are different from such stored date and time and/orlocation by at least a threshold amount, automatic search executionmanager 352 stores the date and time, location or both and provides todevice search manager 326 the search term or terms it received fromautomatic search user interface manager 350 in the manner or mannersdescribed above and an indication that the search is to be performedusing the current location as the target location. Device search manager326 then initiates the search in the manner described above.

It isn't necessary that the search terms be provided over and over, asdevice search manager 326 may store those terms received from automaticsearch execution manager 352. Automatic search execution manager 352 canthen signal device search manager 326 to repeat the search.

Device search manager 326 may store a set of one or more default searchterms and provide them to search execution manager 352 until differentautomatic search terms are received from the user via automatic searchuser interface manager 350. In such embodiment, device search manager326 may append a code to the search terms to indicate each of whetherthe search is an automatic search and whether the automatic search termsare the default automatic search terms. This code is passed all the waythrough to sponsor charge manager 376 via the path described above, andsponsor charge manager 376 uses different charges based on whether thesearch was the default automatic search, a non-default automatic search,or a non-automatic search, with the charges being highest for anon-automatic search and lowest for a default automatic search.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for providing location-based searchresults to a device, the method comprising: identifying a first locationof the device; receiving user input at the device of at least one searchterm; providing an identifier of the first location and the at least onesearch term to a server; receiving from the server a first set ofresults corresponding to the at least one search term and the identifierof the first location of the device, the search results including asponsored listing; and at least partly defraying communication costsincurred in providing the identifier of the first location and the atleast one search term to the server and receiving from the server thefirst set of results by using a fee paid by a sponsor of the sponsoredlisting, wherein the communication costs comprise data connectioncharges.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one search termis selected from a set of predetermined terms.
 3. The method of claim 1further comprising: receiving user input in relation to the sponsoredlisting to cause a follow-up action related to the sponsored listing. 4.The method of claim 3 wherein the follow-up action comprises obtainingand displaying address information of, or route directions to, alocation of the sponsor of the sponsored listing.
 5. The method of claim4 further comprising determining whether the device travels to thelocation of the sponsor within a threshold period of time and recordingan enhanced fee chargeable to the sponsor in response to the devicetraveling to the location of the sponsor within the threshold period oftime.
 6. The method of claim 3 wherein the follow-up action comprisesobtaining and displaying contact information for the sponsor of thesponsored listing and communicating with the sponsor in response tofurther user input.
 7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:identifying a second location of the device; and when the secondlocation of the device is different from the first location of thedevice by at least a distance threshold, providing an identifier of thesecond location to the server and receiving a second set of results fromthe server corresponding to the at least one search term and theidentifier of the second location of the device.
 8. The method of claim7 wherein the second set of results is automatically received inresponse to the identifier of the second location being provided to theserver after the at least one search term is provided to the server. 9.The method of claim 7, further comprising determining a time differencebetween identifying the first location and the second location of thedevice, and when the time difference exceeds a time threshold, receivingthe second set of results.
 10. The method of claim 7 wherein the secondset of results is automatically received in response to the identifierof the second location and the at least one search term being providedto the server.
 11. A non-transitory computer readable medium havingstored thereon computer readable program code for configuring a computerto receive search results: identifying a first location of a device;receiving user input from a user interface of the device of at least onesearch term; providing an identifier of the first location and the atleast one search term to a server; receiving from the server a first setof results corresponding to the search term and the identifier of thefirst location of the device, the search results including a sponsoredlisting; and wherein communication costs associated with providing theidentifier of the first location and the at least one search term to aserver and receiving from the server the first set of results are atleast partly defrayed by a sponsor of the sponsored listing using a feepaid by the sponsor for the sponsored listing, wherein the communicationcosts comprise one or both of data connection charges.
 12. The computerreadable medium of claim 11, wherein the at least one search term isselected from a set of predetermined terms.
 13. The computer readablemedium of claim 11, further comprising code for providing an indicationwith the search request that the search request is an automatic searchrequest.
 14. The computer readable medium of claim 11 further comprisingcode for: identifying a second location of the device; and when thesecond location is different from the first location by at least adistance threshold, sending a search request comprising an identifier ofthe second location to the server and receiving a second set of resultsfrom the server corresponding to the at least one search term and theidentifier of the second location.
 15. The computer readable medium ofclaim 14 wherein the second set of results is automatically received inresponse to the identifier of the second location being provided to theserver after the at least one search term is provided to the server. 16.The computer readable medium of claim 14, further comprising code fordetermining a time difference between identifying the first location andthe second location of the device, and when the time exceeds a timethreshold, receiving the second set of results.
 17. The computerreadable medium of claim 14, wherein the second set of results isautomatically received in response to the identifier of the secondlocation and the at least one search term being provided to the server.18. A device comprising: a location identifier adapted to identify alocation of the device; and a search manager adapted to: receive userinput via a user interface that includes at least one search term;provide an identifier of a first location of the device from thelocation identifier and the at least one search term to a server;receive, from the server, a first set of results corresponding to the atleast one search term and the identifier of the first location of thedevice, the search results including a sponsored listing; and whereincommunication costs associated with providing the identifier of thefirst location and the at least one search term to a server andreceiving from the server the first set of results are at least partlydefrayed by a sponsor of the sponsored listing using a fee paid by thesponsor for the sponsored listing, wherein the communication costscomprise one or both of data connection charges.
 19. The device of claim18, wherein the at least one search term is selected from a set ofpredetermined terms.
 20. The device of claim 18 wherein the searchmanager is further adapted to: receive a second location of the devicefrom the location identifier; when the second location of the device isdifferent from the first location of the device by at least a distancethreshold, the search manager is adapted to provide an identifier of thesecond location to the server and receive a second set of results fromthe server corresponding to the at least one search term and theidentifier of the second location of the device.
 21. The device of claim20, further comprising an automatic search execution manger adapted tocompare the first location of the device and the second location of thedevice and to provide an indication to the search manager in the event adifference between the first location of the device and the secondlocation of the device exceeds the distance threshold.
 22. The device ofclaim 21, wherein the automatic search execution manager is arranged todetermine a time difference between identifying the first location andthe second location of the device, and when the time difference exceedsa time threshold, receiving the second set of results.
 23. The device ofclaim 20, wherein the second set of results is received by the searchmanager after the first set of results is received by the searchmanager.